Heartland CEO to Retire

Heartland Credit Union in Springfield, Ill., announced that Ed Gvazdinskas is retiring as president/CEO after 38 years of service. Gvazdinskas is slated to retire in February.

“I feel extremely fortunate to have worked at Heartland Credit Union for so long. For 38 plus years I have been blessed to serve the members of our credit union,” said Gvazdinskas. “Working with so many dedicated volunteer board directors and extremely talented employees for nearly four decades, to help our members financially succeed, has been very gratifying. I can’t think of another career I would have rather pursued.”

Gvazdinskas was named president/CEO of the credit union, then known as Sacred Heart Credit Union, in 1983. He began his career as an assistant manager in 1975, was promoted to vice president in 1979 and then replaced retiring President Alice Newquist in March 1983.

“By all measures, Ed embodies all of our core values, not only as an executive, but as a person. His visionary leadership has truly been instrumental in the success of the credit union. The board wants to thank Ed for his dedication and we wish him the best in his retirement”, said Jay Boor, chairman of the credit union’s board of directors.

Under Gvazdinskas’ direction, the credit union has grown in assets from $18.5 million in 1983 to over $231 million as of May 2013. Gvazdinskas has led the organization through four mergers, and membership growth from 9,000 members in 1983 to serving more than 26,000 members today.

Assuming the position of president/CEO will be Tom Lex, who has worked for the credit union for more than 33 years and is currently serving as the chief operations officer.